Eyes are an important receptor receiving much information required for life. The eyes are formed of an inner membrane, a middle membrane, an outer membrane, and a refractive medium, wherein the outer membrane is formed of the cornea or a conjunctiva that is a front surface covering a pupil, and a sclera connected with the cornea or the conjunctiva, the middle membrane is formed of an iris, a ciliary body, and an choroid, and the inner membrane is formed of a retina. A lens, a vitreous body, and an aqueous humor correspond to the refractive medium. The functional disability or loss of the eyes is one of big factors in the degradation of the quality of life. Due to aging, disease, and other factors that negatively affect vision, maintaining the eyes in good health becomes more and more important.
The ocular inflammatory disease refers to a disease related to congestion, swelling, infection, stimulation, or trauma. An anterior segment or an outer (exterior) segment of an eye ball structure includes a front part of an eyeball and proximity tissue and, particularly, has a high possibility of generating an inflammatory disease by being continuously exposed to an environment.
The inflammatory diseases of the anterior and outer segments include corneitis (keratitis), conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis, dry eye syndrome, blepharitis, scleritis, episcleritis, iritis, iridocyclitis, uveitis, or postoperative inflammation. Of these, the keratoconjunctivitis, which is an inflammatory disease generated in a cornea and a conjunctiva due to bacteria, viruses, allergies, or environmental factors, is a general ocular disease, is generally cured well, but in some cases, causes blindness due to tissue damage. As a method of treating the ocular inflammatory diseases, an antihistamine, a steroid such as glucocorticoids, or an allergy preventing and blocking agent is currently being used.
However, although using antibiotics for treating the ocular inflammatory disease is germicidal to infectious bacteria, it is hard to expect effects for inhibiting activation of an inflammatory cell in the cornea and reducing the inflammatory cell. Also, when a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug is used long term or is stopped after long-term use, there are problems in that symptoms, such as general prostration, fever, muscle aches, joint pain and loss of appetite, are generated, the risk of infection caused by bacteria, virus or the like appears, weight is increased and the shape of body is changed, and is often accompanied by insomnia. Particularly, if an ointment or eye drops of glucocorticoids is used long term by patient's arbitrary decision, side effects, such as glaucoma, cataracts or bacterial infection easily occur due to an increase in intraocular pressure.
Hereupon, there have been many advances in technique related to treatment and prevention for an ocular inflammatory disease over the past few years. However, an improved method and composition for preventing and treating an ocular inflammatory disease are still required.
In the present invention, to solve a problem of degradative damage recovery of corneal epithelial cells, which is a problem of antibiotics or steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops used to treat an ocular inflammatory disease, sulfasalazine-hyaluronic acid mixture eye drops are developed as a medicine for damage recovery of corneal epithelium instrumental in cytothesis.
In this regard, Korean Patent No. 0490286 discloses an eye drop composition for treating retina damage, using sulfasalazine or a soluble salt thereof as an active ingredient, capable of treating ischemia of a retina due to glaucoma, retinal damage due to diabetic retinopathy, atrophy of a retina nerve due to uveitis and the like.
Also, Korean Patent No. 0894042 discloses the composition capable of reducing after-cataract by using a sulfasalazine-hyaluronic acid mixture.
However, there is no known technique to apply a hydrophilic sulfasalazine and hyaluronic acid complex in treatment for an ocular inflammatory disease, in particular an inflammatory disease of anterior and outer segments anywhere in the prior literature, including the above patent documents.